Take-Two Interactive
Design Manager New Massachusetts - Remote
Take-Two Interactive, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Overview
Ghost Story Games is a self-publishing game development studio founded by Ken Levine (Creative Director of System Shock 2, Bioshock, and Bioshock Infinite) and former Irrational Games developers. The studio’s mission is to create narrative-driven experiences rooted in immersive world building and gameplay.
The Challenge:
Ghost Story Games is seeking a talented Design Manager to join us on Judas, the highly anticipated game led by Ken Levine. Judas features a bold, creative vision and innovative technology that shapes the visual world, gameplay, and story in dynamic, meaningful ways. The project aims to deliver a personal journey tailored to each player and offers a new approach to the art and storytelling of video games.
As the Design Manager, your core challenge is to contribute to the gameplay of Judas by weaving together the game’s dynamic narrative, roguelite mechanics, and other emergent, interconnected systems. Success means ensuring these complex elements feel like a single, seamless, and deeply rewarding player experience. This role focuses on holistic integration and balancing of core design pillars to deliver a groundbreaking game.
Responsibilities
Manage Design Team personnel.
Collaborate with technical and systems design leads on tasking for those groups.
Create and maintain clear, concise design documentation that articulates system functionality.
Work hands-on in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) to prototype, build, and iterate on systems using Blueprint scripting.
Collaborate closely with Engineering, Art, Narrative, and QA to ensure cohesive and successful implementation of gameplay features.
Champion the player experience, ensuring designs are intuitive, engaging, and support a wide variety of playstyles.
Actively participate in playtests, gathering feedback and iterating on designs to achieve the highest possible quality.
Proactively identify design challenges and propose effective, innovative solutions that push creative boundaries.
Advocate for the player experience, ensuring designs align with the overall vision of Judas.
Contribute to design discussions and the evolution of design practices, fostering a culture of knowledge-sharing.
Qualifications
5+ years of professional systems design experience on AAA titles.
Shipped at least one AAA game in a systems design capacity.
Proven expertise in designing and implementing core gameplay loops, progression systems, and player-facing mechanics.
Strong proficiency with Unreal Engine (UE4/UE5), particularly in-engine implementation and Blueprint scripting.
A proactive, self-motivated work ethic, with a strong sense of ownership and the ability to operate with autonomy.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to articulate complex design concepts clearly.
A deep passion for creating emergent, systems-driven gameplay and narrative-rich experiences.
Understanding of telemetry and its uses within game development to validate implementations.
As a senior team member, you lead by example and mentor others.
Nice to Have
Passion for narrative-driven First-Person Shooters.
Scripting proficiency within Unreal Engine (e.g., advanced Blueprint usage) is a plus. Experience with C++ is a bonus.
Direct experience with roguelike/roguelite or immersive sim genres.
Experience designing systems that enhance replayability and emergent outcomes.
Familiarity with content tracking tools (e.g., JIRA, Confluence, Hansoft) or version control systems (e.g., Perforce).
When Applying For This Position Please watch the following GDC talk given by Ken Levine:
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020434/Narrative
To apply, follow the company application process as instructed by Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. This role remains eligible to receive future opportunities via job alerts where available.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
The Challenge:
Ghost Story Games is seeking a talented Design Manager to join us on Judas, the highly anticipated game led by Ken Levine. Judas features a bold, creative vision and innovative technology that shapes the visual world, gameplay, and story in dynamic, meaningful ways. The project aims to deliver a personal journey tailored to each player and offers a new approach to the art and storytelling of video games.
As the Design Manager, your core challenge is to contribute to the gameplay of Judas by weaving together the game’s dynamic narrative, roguelite mechanics, and other emergent, interconnected systems. Success means ensuring these complex elements feel like a single, seamless, and deeply rewarding player experience. This role focuses on holistic integration and balancing of core design pillars to deliver a groundbreaking game.
Responsibilities
Manage Design Team personnel.
Collaborate with technical and systems design leads on tasking for those groups.
Create and maintain clear, concise design documentation that articulates system functionality.
Work hands-on in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) to prototype, build, and iterate on systems using Blueprint scripting.
Collaborate closely with Engineering, Art, Narrative, and QA to ensure cohesive and successful implementation of gameplay features.
Champion the player experience, ensuring designs are intuitive, engaging, and support a wide variety of playstyles.
Actively participate in playtests, gathering feedback and iterating on designs to achieve the highest possible quality.
Proactively identify design challenges and propose effective, innovative solutions that push creative boundaries.
Advocate for the player experience, ensuring designs align with the overall vision of Judas.
Contribute to design discussions and the evolution of design practices, fostering a culture of knowledge-sharing.
Qualifications
5+ years of professional systems design experience on AAA titles.
Shipped at least one AAA game in a systems design capacity.
Proven expertise in designing and implementing core gameplay loops, progression systems, and player-facing mechanics.
Strong proficiency with Unreal Engine (UE4/UE5), particularly in-engine implementation and Blueprint scripting.
A proactive, self-motivated work ethic, with a strong sense of ownership and the ability to operate with autonomy.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to articulate complex design concepts clearly.
A deep passion for creating emergent, systems-driven gameplay and narrative-rich experiences.
Understanding of telemetry and its uses within game development to validate implementations.
As a senior team member, you lead by example and mentor others.
Nice to Have
Passion for narrative-driven First-Person Shooters.
Scripting proficiency within Unreal Engine (e.g., advanced Blueprint usage) is a plus. Experience with C++ is a bonus.
Direct experience with roguelike/roguelite or immersive sim genres.
Experience designing systems that enhance replayability and emergent outcomes.
Familiarity with content tracking tools (e.g., JIRA, Confluence, Hansoft) or version control systems (e.g., Perforce).
When Applying For This Position Please watch the following GDC talk given by Ken Levine:
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020434/Narrative
To apply, follow the company application process as instructed by Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. This role remains eligible to receive future opportunities via job alerts where available.
#J-18808-Ljbffr